BYRON, Ga. — The Mexican community in Central Georgia is honoring the Day of the Dead this November with the Dia De Muertos Culture Expo in Byron.
The Expo takes place on Saturday at North Peach Park, and is meant to teach people about the annual tradition.
"It's a true cultural expo. We want the community to know what the true significant, tradition really means and we want to help with a lot of the skepticism people have around Day of the Dead," Organizer Angela Alcantar says.
The tradition is not a Mexican Halloween, as she said many people think. She says its a celebration of life.
"The celebration dates over 3,000 years. It originally does belong to Meso-Americans, which would date back to the Aztecs and the Olmecs and the whole area around central Mexico," she said.
During Dia De Muertos festivities, families will build an Ofrenda to display photos of loved ones who have passed on.
An Ofrenda is an offering place or altar that is set up in the home for day of the dead.
Each day, people will remember different groups who have passed on such as children or those who died during accidents. Loved ones favorite foods and keepsakes can also be placed on the Ofrenda.
During the cultural expo, organizers invite the guests to help them build a community Ofrenda where people can put pictures or the favorite foods of their loved ones they'd like to remember.
"It's a time to be joyful, a time for the community to learn and engage with the Hispanic community that sometimes we don't see front and center so November 5th will be that day," Alcantar said.
She says its an honor to share this part of her culture with Central Georgia and she doesn't think of it as a holiday, but a tradition.
"We hope that people enjoy and they value the cultural aspects of what we're trying to, in a way, include and to try to teach so that we can work together a little bit more, and we can have a better understanding of what Dia De Muertos really means," Alcantar said.
The Dia De Muertos Culture Expo takes place Saturday at North Peach Park from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. There will be food, a mariachi band, and according to Alcantar, many more surprises.
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